Thursday, August 25, 2022

Henry Eyring (1901-1981): Belief in Joseph Smith being the Foundation of His Faith

  

A TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH SMITH

 

As much as he valued the faith of Planck and Pasteur and other great scientists, Henry’s religious beliefs went beyond theirs. Specifically, Henry’s faith was rooted in the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Pasteur’s hope of an afterlife, for instance, was for Henry a certainty, because Joseph Smith had seen detailed visions of it. Henry didn’t believe just in God, or even the Mormon Church. The foundation of his faith was belief in Joseph Smith.

 

That can be seen time and again in his response to questions about science and religion. For instance, here is his reply to a woman, a convert to the Church, who wondered about the theory that fossil remains on this earth might have been transported from other worlds, thus posting no contradiction to the biblical creation time line:

 

That you for your letter of January 22nd. It was trained as a mining engineer, so the evidence seems to me to point toward an age of the earth of between four and five billion years and to the existence of pre-Adamic man. I don’t think that it is reasonable to explain the observed geologic formations on the theory that they were moved from some other world. Since as Latter-day Saints we believe life exists in other worlds I have no difficulty in reconciling myself to the idea of life before Adam and to a great age of the earth. Our scriptural accounts are brief and don’t seem to me to rule out these possibilities. The scriptural emphasis is on God’s dealings with Adam and his descendants, and the treatment of pre-Adamic history is sketchy, no doubt for a good reason.

 

It seemed clear to me that the Lord used the Prophet Joseph to restore His gospel. This is the important thing for me. Just how He runs the world I’m obliged to leave up to Him. All I can do is find out how he does it by every means available. (Letter of January 27, 1971, Henry Eyring Papers, box 2,2, folder 10)

 

Henry’s 1958 reply to a Church General Authority with a similar question was likewise grounded in a testimony of the Prophet Joseph:

 

The geological and radiological evidence that the earth is some billions of years old is, in my judgment, over-whelming. Brother Talmage and Brother Widtsoe found no difficulty in reconciling such considerations with the Prophet’s divine mission, and neither do I. (Letter of February 28, 1958, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 5)

 

Henry’s fundamental faith in the Prophet Joseph Smith begs the question, “Where did it come from?” He never cited a singular, personal confirmation experience. However, he grew up hearing powerful tales of such experiences. Among those were the stories of the conversion of Mormonism of his paternal grandparents, Henry Eyring and Mary Bommeli. (Henry J. Eyring, Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007], 124-26)

 

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